Coney Island locals clash with NRA chief's claims

FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2013, file photo National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington about gun violence. For decades, LaPierre, 63, has been serving up heated us-vs.-them rhetoric to rally the NRA faithful. Usually it works; sometimes it backfires. He has had a surprisingly long run as the NRA's executive vice president, surviving insider plots along the way, LaPierre remains the hero to many a gun lover, and villain to the opposing forces. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Coney Island residents have disputed National Rifle Association chief Wayne LaPierre's claims of chaos in New York after Hurricane Sandy.

According to The Daily Caller, LaPierre wrote a column on the conservative website that said criminals "ran wild in south Brooklyn" following the aftermath of Sandy. He added that these events provide extra incentive toward his position for more gun ownership.

After Hurricane Sandy, we saw the hellish world that the gun prohibitionists see as their utopia. Looters ran wild in south Brooklyn. There was no food, water or electricity. And if you wanted to walk several miles to get supplies, you better get back before dark, or you might not get home at all.

"He's a f****** idiot," said Steven Feinstein, 66, owner of Wilensky Hardware in Coney Island — one of the neighborhoods that LaPierre claimed Wednesday became a "hellish world" of apocalyptic violence. "He makes it sound like it was the 1970s around here. That's nonsense."

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne noted that the 60th Precinct, as well as the adjoining 61st Precinct, recorded no murders, rapes or shootings despite LaPierre's claims. Browne also said that aside from the increase in burglaries, crime has fallen by 25 percent as a whole.

LaPierre also asserted that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not allow the National Guard to reestablish order because they were armed. Local officials quickly disproved the statement after indicating that there were a number of National Guardsmen in the area, according to the New York Daily News.

"Wayne's world is a loopy place," said Bloomberg spokesman John McCarthy. "New York is the safest big city in the country — thanks in part to our strong gun laws — and in the aftermath of Sandy, crime stayed at record lows. He should touch base with reality."